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The Determinants of Rising Inequality in Health Insurance and Wages, Second Version

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  • Rong Hai

    (Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics, University of Chicago)

Abstract

What has caused the rising gap in health insurance coverage by education in the U.S. over the last thirty years? How does the employment-based health insurance market interact with the labor market? What are the effects of social insurance such as Medicaid? By developing and structurally estimating an equilibrium model, I find that the interaction between labor market technological changes and the cost growth of medical services explains 60% to 70% of the gap. Using counterfactual experiments, I also evaluate the impact of further Medicaid eligibility expansion and employer mandates introduced in the Affordable Care Act on labor and health insurance markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Rong Hai, 2013. "The Determinants of Rising Inequality in Health Insurance and Wages, Second Version," PIER Working Paper Archive 13-071, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 21 Dec 2013.
    • Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:13-071
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; Human Capital; Health Insurance; Health Care Reform; Labor Market Equilibrium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

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